Chapter Eighty: A Busy Day

Page 1/3

Entertainment Is All Around—No Pop-up Ads
Story Timeline: March 2006
Recommended Song: Lee Hyori—Lesson
Disclaimer: This work is purely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental!

After finishing the hidden camera show and the campus ambush event, Jiang Yihan still didn’t return to the dormitory—there were more schedules ahead. Arriving at the live broadcast studio for the midday radio show, Jiang Yihan still felt dizzy and had to slap his own cheeks to wake himself up before stepping inside.

After greeting the host, Jiang Yihan hurriedly sat down—he was already five minutes late.

“Hey, look who’s here in our studio today! Everyone, give a big cheer!” the host said exaggeratedly.

“Hehe, hello everyone. I’m Jiang Yihan. I’m sorry for being a bit late,” Jiang Yihan quickly greeted the audience.

During the hour-and-a-half live broadcast, Jiang Yihan skillfully discussed movie topics, and of course, a live rendition of “May I Love You?” was indispensable. Recently, the topics discussed on shows were always the same few, so much so that Jiang Yihan had grown tired of them himself, even worrying the audience might be bored. He couldn’t help but admire those long-term recurring guests who always seemed to have something new to say—it was truly impressive.

Radio shows had become second nature to Jiang Yihan lately, so the recording went smoothly. By the time the show ended, it was nearly noon. Without pausing, Jiang Yihan climbed into the company van again. This time, he didn’t get in the wrong car because Li Ran and Jiang Ziyi both rushed over together.

“Hey, where’s my lunch?” Jiang Yihan asked Jiang Ziyi, who was straightening her clothes in the car. Jiang Ziyi pointed at a few lunch boxes next to her seat. Jiang Yihan picked one up and started eating right there in the van.

“Li Ran, what’s our next stop? I can’t find your clothes,” Jiang Ziyi turned to Li Ran for help.

“The next event is a magazine shoot—the outfits are all on site. The clothes in the car are for the later interview, that’s why you can’t find them,” Li Ran replied as he found a moment.

Jiang Ziyi breathed a sigh of relief and returned to her seat. “Here, have some water,” she said, handing a bottle to Jiang Yihan.

Seeing her brother work so hard, Jiang Ziyi couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. “How many events do you have today?”

“It was supposed to be twelve, but a few got postponed, so now there are only eight,” Jiang Yihan answered lightly after thinking for a moment.

Jiang Ziyi could only sigh helplessly. If Li Ran weren’t his manager, Jiang Yihan probably wouldn’t even have time to sleep. “And what about Sister Yimei?”

At that, Jiang Yihan paused. He was still troubled and worried about what had happened before, but he really hadn’t had the time lately. “I just hope she understands how busy I am these days,” he said, though even he lacked confidence in his own words. With recent misunderstandings and barely any chance to communicate, how could problems be resolved? Gazing out at the endless flow of cars, Jiang Yihan gradually drifted off to sleep—he was just too exhausted.

When they arrived at the magazine shoot, everyone was already waiting for him. Jiang Yihan hurried to apologize and, together with Jiang Ziyi and the wardrobe stylist on site, went to the dressing room to change.

“How many outfits are we shooting today?” Jiang Ziyi asked humbly, wanting to clarify the situation.

“Eight sets today. Time’s tight, so we’ll need to hurry,” replied the stylist, who kept working as he spoke.

During the three-hour shoot, Jiang Yihan’s eyelids kept drooping, but whenever he stepped into the flash of the cameras, he forced himself to pose at his best, showing off his charm.

An hour-long interview followed, and by the end, it was almost 4:30 p.m.—not much time left before the live broadcast at MCD. Li Ran quickly drove Jiang Yihan to the venue, arriving just as the show began.

When the whole audience sang “May I Love You?” together, Jiang Yihan forgot all his fatigue. At that moment, he felt it was the best reward the audience could give him.

As expected, Jiang Yihan took first place again today.

After hurriedly attending an anti-piracy event and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, dusk had already fallen. On the way back from Daejeon, Jiang Yihan even participated in a public concert, and now he was heading to his last event of the day: performing at Hanyang University’s festival.

Page 2/3

“This is the last one for today, right?” Jiang Yihan asked with his eyes closed.

“Yeah, get some sleep. It’ll take almost two hours to get back from Daejeon,” Li Ran replied, switching off the car lights. Jiang Yihan instantly fell into a deep sleep.

He was woken by the boisterous cheers at the venue, glancing at the time—it was already past 9 p.m.

“Who’s performing outside now?” Jiang Yihan rubbed his eyes.

“Some students from the university. Lee Seung-gi finished his set ten minutes ago. You’re running late, hurry up,” Li Ran called Jiang Ziyi over to help.

In a flurry, Jiang Yihan changed clothes, and Jiang Ziyi quickly tidied his hair before he stood ready at the car door.

“What songs are we doing tonight?” Jiang Yihan suddenly remembered he didn’t know the setlist yet.

“‘Castle’, ‘Bittersweet Goodbye’, ‘May I Love You?’, ‘Secretly Loving You’, and ‘Don’t Want to Say Goodbye.’ The last two are encores—we’ll decide on the spot if we do them,” Li Ran said quickly as they walked toward the stage, apologizing non-stop to the staff for their tardiness.

Just then, a man who looked like the director came over. “Are you singing live or lip-syncing tonight?”

“Live,” Li Ran replied without hesitation, handing over the CD. “The setlist is on top. I’ll come over to your side in a bit.”

In open-air venues like this, singing live is quite different from lip-syncing. The sound quality of microphones and speakers, as well as the venue size, can affect the live performance—the larger the venue, the more echo, and the harder it is to maintain sound quality. This is why many artists opt for lip-syncing, especially after a long day’s schedule when their voices aren’t at their best and the equipment is less than ideal. But when Jiang Yihan first debuted, the company had discussed this issue: he had always insisted on singing live, and even in less-than-perfect conditions, he could control his voice well. Singing live was a sign of respect for the audience and a show of self-confidence. Over a year, Jiang Yihan had lived up to his reputation, earning the nickname “CD Prince,” signifying that hearing him live was as good as listening to his record—sometimes even more moving. Many fans preferred his live performances for the atmosphere and passion.

Tonight, Jiang Yihan once again chose to perform live.

“Dear students, I bring you good news—our prince, Jiang Yihan, is here!” the host announced loudly.

Standing at the foot of the stairs, Jiang Yihan could hear the thunderous cheers—it was overwhelming. As he climbed the steps to the stage, he bowed and greeted everyone, “Hello, Hanyang University! I’m Jiang Yihan.”

From the center of the stage, he saw the entire field packed with people, their screams so loud he could feel his eardrums vibrate. The audience, who had been sitting on the ground, all stood up, surging toward the stage until there wasn’t an empty spot. Even the back of the field was quickly filled as more students ran over.

“Sorry for being late—had other events earlier. Sincerely apologize!” Jiang Yihan hurried to say.

“No problem!” voices echoed from all directions, making Jiang Yihan smile shyly. The crowd responded with even more enthusiasm.

“It’s really cold tonight—is everyone okay?” Jiang Yihan pulled his jacket tighter, feeling the strong wind.

“Not cold!” the crowd replied, making Jiang Yihan laugh with delight.

“Well, let’s start with the first song—‘Castle’!” Jiang Yihan announced crisply.

More than three thousand people sang along in unison, moving Jiang Yihan deeply. He raised his right hand, swaying to the beat, and the audience followed, glow sticks lighting up the chilly night.

When the song ended, Jiang Yihan marveled, “Wow, you all know the lyrics! Amazing. Do you like this song?”

“Yes!” the powerful, coordinated response startled him. “Wow, you’re incredible, truly impressive!” His expression made everyone laugh.

“This is Hanyang University’s festival, right?” Jiang Yihan smiled, “I’m jealous that everyone gets to join. I study at Chungang University, but I’ve never attended any festival—no one’s ever invited me.” He pouted playfully.

Page 3/3

The crowd instantly burst into a cheerful uproar, shouting things like, “Come join us!” and “Transfer to our school!”

“Haha, everyone’s so enthusiastic!” Jiang Yihan laughed. “Looking around, there really are so many people. Friends in the very back, can you hear me?” he called out to the farthest end of the field.

A wave of screams answered him.

“Good, as long as you can hear me. If not, I’ll just go sing in the back,” Jiang Yihan joked. Instantly, a noisy chorus of “We can’t hear you!” erupted from the back.

“Heh, you’re fibbing! You just said you could! I’m not buying it, haha!” he teased, his playful antics making him even more endearing. The crowd erupted in laughter.

“All right, next up is ‘Bittersweet Goodbye’,” Jiang Yihan announced, starting the mid-tempo song.

With simple dance steps, the crowd began to bounce and sway with the rhythm. When the chorus hit, Jiang Yihan held the microphone out to the audience, who sang along while he kept the beat, soaking in the joyous moment. As the music soared, he made an “up” gesture with both hands, sending the crowd into another frenzy of cheers. When the last note faded, he asked, “Is everyone still cold?”

“No!” the crowd answered in unison.

“Wow, the energy here is amazing,” Jiang Yihan said breathlessly as he walked. “How about we do a human wave together?”

He walked to the far left of the stage and shouted, “Let’s go!”

Everyone raised their hands, forming a wave, and as Jiang Yihan walked from the left to the right of the stage, wherever he went, the cheers followed—a spectacular sight.

“You’re all incredible!” Jiang Yihan gave a thumbs-up. “Has everyone seen my movie ‘May I Love You?’”

“Yes!” came the collective reply.

“Really, all of you?” he asked skeptically, which only made their confirmation louder. “Looks like you have! Then, our last song for tonight is ‘May I Love You?’”

The romantic ballad that had dominated the charts for almost two months filled the night air at Hanyang University. Jiang Yihan’s voice carried through the speakers; despite the equipment and echo, his performance still moved the audience.

“You’ve already occupied my heart. I must tread carefully, summon courage—from today, may I love you?” The entire field sang along, creating a touching moment.

During the instrumental break, Jiang Yihan spoke gently, “I hope everyone here finds the courage to confess their feelings and tell the one you like, ‘I like you.’ I sincerely wish you all find someone you love.”

The female students immediately shouted, “Young Master, I love you!” making Jiang Yihan smile.

As the song ended, he waved goodbye with a smile. “That’s all for tonight’s show. I wish you all a wonderful evening. Goodnight.”

But before he could step off stage, a massive encore chant erupted. Though their voices were hoarse from all the previous cheering, they still shouted with all their might, “Encore! Encore! Encore!” The chant was so unified, even the host couldn’t be heard when he came back on stage.

Offstage, Jiang Yihan drank the water Jiang Ziyi handed him. Li Ran came over. “Great job just now. Don’t push too hard during the encore—take care of your voice.”

“Got it.”

After two minutes of relentless encore, Jiang Yihan returned to the stage.

“Everyone’s really enthusiastic! But if no one called for an encore, I’d be pretty embarrassed, haha!” he joked, making the crowd laugh again. “Next up is ‘Secretly Loving You’—I hope you like it!”

The audience’s excitement soared once more. When he reached the line in “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye”—“I love you, words are unnecessary; even the sky is weeping at this moment. I really don’t want to say goodbye”—the crowd sang along, filling the night with song. When it was over, Jiang Yihan sighed, “I really don’t want to part with you all, but it’s late and cold—please go home, take a hot shower, and don’t catch a cold. I’m sure we’ll meet again! Tonight was really wonderful. Goodnight, everyone!”

Amid voices of reluctant farewell, Jiang Yihan quickly ran back to the company van, finally finishing the day’s schedule.

“Let’s go practice for a bit.” Even exhausted, practice was non-negotiable.